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Story: Thermal pools and spas

The Greville hot-air bath

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The Greville hot-air bath

In the heyday of the spa some seemingly bizarre treatments were offered. For instance, this hot-air bath exposed the patient to intense dry heat from electric wires. The two men are being treated for shoulder and leg problems at the Rotorua bathhouse in 1926.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, New Zealand Railways Collection (PAColl-5167)

Reference: PA1-f-051-27-3

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Thermal pools and spas – Health benefits, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6482/the-greville-hot-air-bath (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009.